Contact: Joe Martin
717-232-6787 or
PHC4 RELEASES 2017 HOSPITAL FINANCIAL REPORT â UNCOMPENSATED CARE LEVELS DECREASED 9.8%
Harrisburg, PA – May 8, 2018 – The foregone dollar value for Pennsylvania general acute care hospitalsâ uncompensated care has decreased in fiscal year 2017 (FY17) from $844 million in FY16 to $761 million in FY17. The statewide percent of uncompensated care to net patient revenue has been steadily decreasing for the past four years. In FY14, the percent of uncompensated care decreased from 2.81% in FY13 to 2.78%. In FY15, it decreased from 2.78% in FY14 to 2.43%. In FY16, the percent dropped from 2.43% in FY15 to 2.01%. In FY17, the percent dropped from 2.01% in FY16 to 1.74%.
The report shows that the foregone dollar value of uncompensated careâuncollectible debt and charity careâprovided by hospitals in the Commonwealth decreased by 9.8% in FY17, or $83 million, to a total of $761 million. âFor FY17, the percent of statewide uncompensated care has fallen to 1.74% of reported net patient revenue, although 37% of Pennsylvania hospitals posted a negative operating margin,â said Joe Martin, executive director at PHC4.
The statewide total margin realized by the hospitals in Pennsylvania increased by 0.66 percentage points, from 5.96% in FY16 to 6.62% in FY17, and the statewide operating margin decreased 0.87 percentage points from 6.02% in FY16 to 5.15% in FY17. The statewide operating income for Pennsylvania hospitals decreased from $2.7 billion in FY16 to $2.4 billion in FY17.
Report highlights:
Net Patient Revenue: The revenue hospitals received for patient care increased 3.9% during FY17. Statewide net patient revenue was $43.6 billion during FY17, making up 95% of statewide hospital total operating revenue.
Patient Accounts Receivable: On a statewide basis, the amount of time the average bill remained in accounts receivable for FY17 remained unchanged at 45 days.
Operating Margin: Statewide operating income decreased from $2.7 billion in FY16 to $2.4 billion in FY17. As a result, the statewide average operating margin decreased from 6.02% in FY16 to 5.15% in FY17. Total operating revenue increased to $46.2 billion and operating expenses increased to $43.8 billion in FY17.
Total Margin: The statewide total margin realized by the hospitals increased slightly by 0.66 percentage points, from 5.96% in FY16 to 6.62% in FY17.
Uncompensated Care: The statewide percent of uncompensated care to net patient revenue has been steadily decreasing each year since FY13. The percent of uncompensated care to net patient revenue decreased from 2.01% in FY16 to 1.74% in FY17. The foregone dollar value for statewide uncompensated care has fallen from $844 million in FY16 to $761 million in FY17.
The Volume One Financial Analysis 2017 of General Acute Care hospitals is the first of a three part series of reports PHC4 publishes annually. Volume Two, focused on Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Volume Three on non-GAC hospitals, which will be released later this year.
PHC4 is an independent state agency charged with collecting, analyzing and reporting information about the cost and quality of health care in Pennsylvania. Copies of Financial Analysis 2017, Volume One are free and available from PHC4âs website at www.phc4.org.
